hojomojo Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Hi from a lurker-turned-post-noob! I'm currently designing/planning a strat-esque body build (my first) and I got a stupid idea in my head that I want a B/W/B style pickguard, but I also want it to have a woodgrain surface (something like white ash). Then I'd like to stain/dye it as black as possible. And then somehow give it a glossy finish... rendition of my "almost ideal" PG: http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l7/kylew.../BWB-WoodPG.jpg So the first idea I get is to just buy B/W/B PG stock and glue ash veneer to it, then cut out & bevel my PG... stain it, clearcoat it with waterbased lacquer, and buff it. But I'm just sort of wondering how well I'll be able to pull it off, and got curious if anyone here might be able to either point out issues I'll have doing this to the veneer, or else give other totally new suggestions on how I can get a black woodgrain surface with a white pinstripe around it. I can't seem to find too many examples like it on the interweb... And while I'm at it, here's what I'm hoping to be next fall http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l7/kylew...retrocaster.jpg I'm a huge geek - Don't ask. I'd welcome any suggestions to its cosmetics though Peace! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpcrash Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Seems that your idea would work - but what about getting a solid wood pickguard and going around it with 2mm white pinstriping tape from the auto store? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Can't see your pictures right now as photobucket is blocked at work (goofing around right now...). There is another way of doing a solid wood PG without the pin striping that is highly likely to wear off. You can always make a wooden PG, glue a typical plastic multi ply binding (bl-wh-bl or only inner white and outer black) around the perimeter of the PG. When you bevel the edges the binding will look like the edge of a plastic PG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hojomojo Posted July 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 I really like both of your suggestions... I wouldn't have to worry about wearing the pinstriping off if I clearcoated the pickguard, which I hope to do... that binding idea is really ingenious, I may try that out as it'd allow me to get a consistent pinstripe height around the PG without too much frustration... and it might let me get a slightly thinner pinstripe as well. Either of those suggestions are much better than my original plan though, I'll try to bump this post up from the grave if I get a finished result. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 I like it! and the retrocaster looks nice too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshvegas Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 (edited) If you just want the effect I'm sure someone (i think possibly setch) said if you pore hot water on a plastic (acrylic?) pick guard then clamp a piece of wood to it you end up with the woodgrain impressed onto the plastic. especially with ash which has quite an open grain. I could be wrong it does happen occasionally! I really like your pickguard shape with the exception of the little piece at the top, it's not hideous or anything but i think it goes to close to the edge of the guitar to not follow the curve. also perhaps keeping the gap round the bridge the same for both sections of the pickguard would look even classier. does that make sense? Edited July 7, 2008 by joshvegas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hojomojo Posted July 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 (edited) thanks guys! Josh that sounds like a weird effect, I'm gonna have to try that out on a scrap piece of P.G. blank tonight... I know what you mean with the "moon" being too close to the edge, sometimes it bugs me too. It's actually a sort of contoured depression into the guitar. Originally I had plans to make it a handle cut-out, but it looked like it was trying too hard. I'll have to try out the pinstripe surrounding the rest of the bridge, though. By the way - where can I find some B/W/B binding? I noticed stewmac has white/black plastics, but I'd have to laminate it myself... maybe that wouldn't be a big deal. I somehow doubt it'll bend around the sharp point by the strat's lower horn though. I'm also thinking about using magnets to hold in the pickguards to give the whole thing a really clean, modern look... but I'm not sure if the magnetic field would reach over to the single coils enough to hurt anything or not. I also haven't figured out how I can make sure the PG snaps into as accurate a position as screws allow (misalignment would make the gap between the two PG's look terrible...) thanks for the replies! Edited July 8, 2008 by hojomojo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshvegas Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 drill holes where you want the magnets placed just deep enough for the two parts then put a spot of glue (no idea what type) on each exposed surface then postion the scratchplate (you might want to use some spacers to make it easier) and press down when the glue is cured lift it off it will only go back into that one position you might want to slightly counter sink the holes to make it easier to locatte the holes. I'd also cover the guitar surface around the holes in something that can't adhere to the glue maybe wax? That's how i'd do it but i'm no expert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hojomojo Posted July 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 I suppose if the holes for the magnets were the same size as the magnets, really that'd work just fine. My curiosity got pegged looking at the other active thread about it, in which I saw rick500 outlined that sort of method. I was just looking at his picture and realized the only way it sets into the same spot every time is because of the recession for his cover... I didn't want to make a recession for my PG's, but I guess it's not exactly a big deal to have a decent fit for the magnets. Now I gotta figure out if the small yet strong magnetic field will do anything noticeable to the pickups from an inch or two away... Definitely liking this forum more every time I visit it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dugg Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 Very cool. I was thinking about doing something similar, but I was going to make the entire pickguard out of three layers of dark/light/dark wood veneer. I don't have a vacuum bag setup, but I was musing that such thin veneers as would make a pickguard might be clamped effectively in a low tech vacuum setup, like maybe just stuffing the 'sandwich' into a gallon freezer ziplock and sucking the air out. You might not even need any vacuum at all, maybe just two pieces of flat plywood and a couple bricks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anderekel Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 Very cool. I was thinking about doing something similar, but I was going to make the entire pickguard out of three layers of dark/light/dark wood veneer. I don't have a vacuum bag setup, but I was musing that such thin veneers as would make a pickguard might be clamped effectively in a low tech vacuum setup, like maybe just stuffing the 'sandwich' into a gallon freezer ziplock and sucking the air out. You might not even need any vacuum at all, maybe just two pieces of flat plywood and a couple bricks. I don't see why that wouldn't work. I would suggest sandwiching between two pieces of glass. It's extremely flat, not very expensive, and doesn't really flex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Now I gotta figure out if the small yet strong magnetic field will do anything noticeable to the pickups from an inch or two away... Don't worry about that. If you keep the two inces away you will not notice any changes. A very strong ¼” mm Neodynium magnet as close to the pickup as 1/2 “ will affect the shape of the magnetic field some, but as the magnet is probably smaller (1/4” is way too strong, I use 3mm diameter, 1mm thick) so the impact on sound will be minimal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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